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The Borg assimilate beings from every species they consider worthy (with the exception of some species on whom assimilation attempts fail, such as Species 8472). For this reason the physiology of Borg drones varies.

Their organic bodies are enhanced, and some parts completely replaced, with cybernetic implants. The nature of these implants is determined by the drone's intended function, for instance a tactical or medical repair drone. Every drone is equipped with a homing device and has the ability to assimilate beings by means of nanoprobes. It also has its own unique translink frequency by which it keeps in contact with the hive mind.

The Borg have no culture in the traditional sense of the word. Their sole purpose was the assimilation of other beings in their pursuit of perfection. Being a Collective, members lose any sense of individuality. The moment someone was assimilated his or her individuality was integrated within the Borg hive mind and they would be a part of the Borg Collective.

Art, music, leisure, wealth, political conquest... all were irrelevant to the Borg. However, they held a near-reverence for the Omega molecule, which they considered to be an expression of perfection. The molecule itself was known throughout the Collective as Particle 010. Although they tried to create the molecule themselves, only one drone ever witnessed the molecule in its stable form, for a few seconds. Because of their failure to create it, every drone within the Collective was required to assimilate the molecule once discovered.

While part of the Collective, assimilated beings were referred to as "drones". Stripped of their individuality, their former names were replaced by designations such as "Two of Nine" or "Third of Five", combined with the area they performed their duties such as Unimatrix 01. After performing its duties, a drone could be redirected to perform another duty or to regenerate in its alcove until needed for something else. There was no way to avoid the Collective.

Although the drive for perfection made the Borg assimilate other beings, they did not assimilate everyone. The Collective was not interested in species they did not see as having something to offer them, a biological or technological characteristic that would enhance the power of the collective or advance their pursuit of their ideal of perfection. The Kazon were a species the Borg did not assimilate because they were considered useless. They also referred to species not by their name but by a number, presumably the order in which they were encountered by the Borg.

Since the Borg added lifeforms to their Collective via assimilation, there was no need for procreation. Because no differentiation was made between children and adults when assimilating a race, there were juvenile drones. Unlike non-Borg species they did not need to go to school to obtain knowledge. The moment they joined the Collective they could access its entire memory. However, when they were too young they were placed in maturation chambers where they remained for seventeen cycles before they would serve the Borg Collective.

The Borg Collective knew neither fear nor pleasure, but they did 'care' for their drones. When a drone was injured in some way, the Collective tried to repair it. Their linkage to each other made it possible to heal both organic and artificial parts. When a Borg ship was damaged, the Collective attempted to retrieve it. If a drone becomes isolated or lost, and sends out a distress signal, the nearest ship will answer, and will endeavor to retrieve the drone and return it to service. If, on the other hand, a drone's injuries were beyond repair, it was deactivated and stripped of usable parts. After a drone is salvaged in this way, its comrades will activate a self-destruct mechanism which vaporizes the drone's body, most likely to prevent enemies from gaining Borg technology.

There is also the Borg Queen, a role that is still not fully understood. She appears to have control of the collective, as well as an independence that the other drones do not. When Data encountered her, he asked her what her role in the Collective was. She replied "I am the one who is many. I bring order to chaos." Data did not understand this, and thought it a contradiction. She replied "You imply disparity where none exists. I am the Collective.". Magnus Hansen compared her to a Queen of an insect colony.

Borg vessels were among the most powerful in the galaxy. Highly decentralized, they had no bridge, living quarters or engineering section. All drones collectively operated the vessels under the general direction of the Collective.

While each of their vessels is highly unique in its design, all Borg vessels shared common elements. These included the ability to repair any spacecraft structure that was damaged in battle, as well as a Vinculum (which is the core of every Borg vessel) that was used to interconnect all the drones on board and to purge any individual thought. A critically-damaged Borg vessel would self-destruct, destroying all vital technologies, such as any transwarp coils.

Borg vessels had a force field and were equipped with, among other things, a tractor beam and phaser-like weaponry. Because they were controlled by the Collective, a threat could be neutralized very quickly. For instance, to block any incoming phaser fire the force field frequency could be changed before an opponent had time to tune the phaser frequency and destroy the vessel.

The atmosphere of a Borg vessel, as all other Borg constructs, had a constant temperature of 39.1° Celsius and a relative humidity of 92%. Air pressure was about two kilopascals above that of Federation starships. The quantity of tetryon particles were a sign a Borg atmosphere was present in a structure. Borg ships had few doors or airlocks, unlike Federation ships. A significant quantity of the atmosphere was held in the ship by force fields. This was dangerous, since a substantial power loss, however unlikely, could depressurize part or all of a vessel.

Later, the Borg used a new way to travel through space, transwarp conduits. These conduits were connected to each other by means of a transwarp hub. This gave the Borg the advantage that their vessels could reach any part of their realm, or any destination in the galaxy for that matter, within a very short time. By 2378 they had a least six transwarp hubs. One of them was situated within a nebula in the Delta Quadrant. It was discovered by the FederationstarshipUSS Voyager, which used it to get back to Earth and then destroyed it.

The Borg always have and probably will continue to assimilate species they consider worthy into their Collective. Not only have the Borg assimilated starships, but entire planets they encounter. After an assessment of the target's tactical strengths and weaknesses, and their worthiness of inclusion into the Borg Collective, the assimilation process begins.

Very few species can resist them or stay out of their way. Because of this, the Borg are present in several quadrants of the galaxy. They have assimilated many species. This is what some survivors or people who have dealt with them have said or compared them with:

"You can't outrun them, you can't destroy them. If you damage them, the essence of what they are remains. They regenerate and keep coming. They are relentless."

"My mind keeps going back to the Borg... how I despised their...indifference as they tried to exterminate us. And I have to ask myself... would I be any different if I destroyed another universe to preserve my own?"